When you think of breastfeeding your baby, how long are you thinking you will breastfeed? 6 months? A year? Extended breastfeeding is not very common in the United States, but breast milk is the absolute best nutrition not just for your baby but for your toddler too!
Breast milk is a fairly amazing substance. Not only does it supply your child’s complete nutritional needs (and is capable of doing so for the first year of life without any help from solid food) but it is a living substance. It changes properties according to the needs of your child. It is the ultimate in antibacterial technology–protecting against allergies and illness. It even prepares specific antibodies according to what bug is going around in the house. (My kitchen soap doesn’t do that!) It varies in fat content–breast milk has been shown to be more dense in a mother who has given birth prematurely–and it also varies in the vitamins it gives–all according to the needs of your child.
Okay–so you maybe you knew all that but why should you continue to breastfeed into the toddler years?
Breastfeeding toddlers are sick less often and are at a decreased risk for illnesses
WHO (World Health Organization) says that if there were a modest increase in breastfeeding, childhood mortality (ages 0-5) would decrease by about 10%! Immunological properties in breast milk actually seem to increase the longer a mother lactates.
Breastfeeding toddlers have fewer allergies
Breastfeeding helps reduce allergies by prolonging exposure to potential allergens, coating the gut to help provide a protective lining against allergenic molecules and helping the digestive tract mature more quickly.
Breastfeeding toddlers are smart
Numerous studies have shown that the longer you breastfeed, the higher your baby’s IQ.
But it’s not just all about your toddler. Nursing a toddler brings great benefits for you too! The longer you breastfeed the greater you reduce your risk for several cancers including: breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. Since producing milk consumes approximately 500-700 calories a day, women who breastfeed tend to experience greater and more permanent weight loss. In addition, extended breastfeeding seems to ward off a whole host of illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.
For me, breastfeeding my toddlers has been the best way to meet their needs. I never started out thinking that I would breastfeed for several years. It just happened that way with my first child. The experience was so wonderful, I have since adopted the view that extended breastfeeding is the best practice for our family. If you want to find out more about how to encourage breastfeeding for the long haul, check out my next blog.